FIABCI/United Nations: historic agreement

FIABCI, a leading business network of real estate professionals worldwide, and the Global Compact Cities Programme, a United Nations International Secretariat, signed a high-level agreement of cooperation during the FIABCI World Congress in Luxembourg. The agreement confirmed a strategic collaboration which began earlier this year in Dubai to write a Charter for Sustainable Property Development and to develop a set of associated tools and assessment processes.

The FIABCI World Congress is one of the most respected global real estate meetings. Over 1,000 global leaders from the real estate industry attended the 65th Congress to network, build business, share experience, and advance industry knowledge. The Congress theme was focused on “Building Humanity.” Several world-renowned experts and internationally recognized business leaders from the global real estate and development industries shared cutting-edge ideas. The Congress included focused discussion on the challenges and principles of property development.

Positive and sustainable property development is complex. Agreeing on broad principles and assessment tools cannot be coordinated easily. There are many fields of property development involved including legislators, builders, planners, realtors, financiers, architects, brokers, and plumbers, etc. There are thousands of different codes, regulations, principles and procedures which are implemented according to each local country, and there is currently no charter of responsibility that manages or coordinates them in a unified process.

“The subject of positive, sustainable property development cannot be left to a few good developers and some innovative cities,” explained Robyn Waters, FIABCI World President. “We need a set of effective working guidelines, principles and assessment tools to coordinate best practices throughout the world. For example, there are currently over 50 codes and certifications just in the area of green buildings. This collaborative agreement will ensure that we can build a sustainable future with eco-friendly concepts as needed,” she continued.

The collaboration will focus on an approach called ‘Circles of Sustainability’ which will organize different sectors involved in property development together in a common direction.

“This groundbreaking agreement which we signed in Luxembourg, has created an innovative global consultation process focused on effective property development that will involve hundreds of experts from across the world,” said Professor Paul James, Director of the Cities Programme. “It will take time. But by the FIABCI World Congress in Kuala Lumpur in May 2015 we will have a working charter which will impact how we develop how we change cities, project by project. We need to be proactive and this is one step in the process. Change cannot wait for the next generation,” he continued.

About FIABCI
FIABCI, the International Real Estate Federation, is a business network of real estate professionals worldwide. FIABCI provides access and opportunity for real estate professionals interested in gaining knowledge, sharing information and conducting international business with each other. With members in 65 countries, including 100 Professional Associations, 65 Academic Institutions and 3000 individual members from all professions of the real estate sector, FIABCI is the most representative organisation of the real estate industry in the world and holds special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations.

About Global Compact Cities Programme
The Cities Programme is the urban arm of the Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate responsibility organization.